JCPenney's rebranding wins over some shoppers, disappoints others

View full sizeLisa DeJong, The Plain DealerJCPenney Co. aims to change the way shoppers think of its stores with a rebranding campaign called "In Praise of Fresh Air," featuring cleaner, less-cluttered store displays, an everyday low-price strategy, an "any item, any time" return policy, and a red-white-and-blue logo meant to evoke the American flag.

He welcomes new Chief Executive Ron Johnson's "fair and square pricing" policy as a long-overdue return to the Golden Rule values JCPenney was founded on 110 years ago.

"I'm old school; I do not believe in making the customer get up at 7 o'clock on her day off to get a special price," he said.

With the store's new everyday low pricing and month-long sales, "she doesn't have to go through hoops anymore. She can shop when she wants to shop."

"Customers tell me: 'I hate getting in line behind someone and they have a $10 coupon and I don't.'" With the new prices and an "any item, any time" return policy, "we're really trying to go overboard on customer service," Wilson said.

The decision to hire DeGeneres is not without controversy. The conservative group One Million Moms called for the retailer to choose another spokesman and said DeGeneres "is not a true representative of the type of families that shop" at JCPenney.

JCPenney said it stands by its decision, saying: "We couldn't think of a better partner to help us put the fun back into the retail experience."

View full sizeLisa DeJong, The Plain DealerJCPenney's new "fair and square" pricing means red tags are everyday low prices, plum tags are February-only prices, and blue tags -- such as this tag from the pre-teen girls' department -- are best prices, especially on the first and third Fridays of the month.

But the real test of whether the rebranding campaign works is if more people start shopping there, and reverse the retailer's declining sales. Shoppers at the North Olmsted store had mixed reactions to the new JCPenney.

"I like the idea, because it's so much easier to have the sale price all the time," said Carolyn Hexter of North Olmsted, shopping with her grandson, Brady, 3. She bought some curtains and a shirt for her husband.

"I think it's great that they're trying to help out with pricing, especially having an infant," said Tabitha Todd, pushing her 7-week-old daughter, Ava, in a stroller.

Her husband, Steve, added: "It's nice to have the no-hassle price, where you don't have to be a member of the club to get the best price."

He also likes the fact that JCPenney is mailing regular customers 96-page monthly catalogs instead of sending them e-mails, because "we get inundated with so much spam and e-mail" that it would have gotten lost in the shuffle.

Others, however, said they miss the coupons and were skeptical that they are getting the store's best deals.

"I'm not at all impressed. I think the prices are ridiculous," said Mary Clark of Elyria. "We came here to find something for her daughter and couldn't find anything." She ended up buying some boys' jeans for $12 a pair instead (marked down from $20).

Jennifer Pearce of Cleveland shrugged at the red-white-and-blue logos and less-cluttered aisles.

"I don't see much difference. They just changed the signs," she said. "We had seen that it was changing over the last time we came, and we didn't understand why because it seems like a pretty successful store."

Judy Gomersall, a regular JCPenney shopper from North Olmsted, said: "I think if you have a sale every single day, maybe you were marking things up too much to begin with."

She bought a pair of petite wool slacks for $30, but said she might have liked it better if it had been $10 off a $40 pair of pants.

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